Cazenovia pilot killed in airplane crash in Skaneateles

Gloria Wright / The Post-StandardOne person was killed and another seriously injured in a plane crash near Skaneateles Friday. The plane was in a wooded area across Benson Road from the Skaneateles Aero Drome.

Update: State police have identified the pilot as the plane's owner, Leslie D. Woodcock, 64, of Cazenovia. His passenger, flight instructor James M. Spaller, remains in critical condition at University Hospital. -- 9:50 p.m.

Skaneateles, NY - A pilot was killed and a flight instructor was critically injured after a plane crashed near the Skaneateles Aero Drome, state police said.

The pilot has not been identified. The flight instructor, James M. Spaller, of West Colvin Street, told investigators that they were simulating an engine failure during landing when they crashed, troopers said. Spaller was transported to University Hospital with a leg injury and collapsed lung.

The Aero Drome runway is about 500 yards from the crash site. Spaller told investigators that the plane lost air speed and struck the ground about 60 yards before a tree line and skidded into a pine tree. The pine tree then fell, crushing the plane, troopers said.

The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene at about 12:05 p.m.

Earlier reportsThe Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that one person was killed and another seriously injured in a plane crash in rural Skaneateles about noon.

Arlene Salac, speaking for the FAA, said the agency does not identify victims of plane accidents, leaving that to local authorities.

The Aerofab Inc. model Lake LA 250 aircraft is registered to Leslie D. Woodcock, of Cazenovia, Salac said. She cautioned that the owner was not necessarily aboard the craft and that it could not be inferred that he was a victim in the crash.

Salac said the craft had taken off from Syracuse Hancock International Airport at an unknown time and crashed about noon in a wooded area near the Skaneateles Aero Drome, a small airport west of Skaneateles Lake.

She did not know whether the plane was attempting to land as part of its flight plan or was attempting an emergency landing. Two FAA inspectors were en route from Rochester about 2:50 p.m., she said.

Emergency crews first responded to an area of 2863 Benson Road in Skaneateles. Authorities, including state police, Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies, firefighters from area departments and officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation responded to the scene.

Staff writers John Mariani and Douglass Dowty and contributing writer Michael Bersani contributed to this report.